For millennia, herbs and humans have existed in a dynamic partnership, evolving together in a symbiotic relationship. As human societies have grown and faced new challenges—physical, environmental, or emotional—plants have adapted, offering their healing properties as medicine. Long before modern pharmaceuticals, people turned to the earth for medicine, learning through experience which plants could nourish, heal, or soothe. The history of botanical medicine is tens of thousands of years old. Some of the oldest cultural knowledge passed down in all civilizations is the carefully learned knowledge of plant medicine. It is the most valuable and integral knowledge to the success of communities, so the transfer of this knowledge has always been ensured. We had to know what is safe, what can heal, and what can feed the people. Without plants, we cannot survive.
Passed down through generations as folklore and science, with study after study reinforcing folklore and the hundreds of years of informal science as modern scientific fact. What our ancestors already knew so well through millennia of trial and error should not be thrown out as not valuable, even though it lacked labs and double-blind, large sample size studies. As humans have faced new illnesses, stresses, and environmental shifts, plants have continued to evolve, developing more complex chemical compounds to protect themselves and, in turn, offer us solutions to the diseases – viral or environmental that evolve to challenge humanity. Herbal medicine, therefore, isn’t just a relic of the past but a living tradition—one that grows with us, meeting the needs of modern life while staying rooted in ancient wisdom. The vast array of phytochemistry we have yet to dive into and discover is even larger than the thousands of years of wisdom we have already amassed. This timeless connection between humans and plants serves as a reminder that healing isn’t something we need to invent; it’s something that has been growing all around us for millennia, evolving alongside us in harmony.
Being the herbal history geek that I am, I inevitably have to include some historical examples of the symbiosis of humans and plants. While I can easily provide hundreds of examples of times when humans use plants one-sidedly, taking without care of repercussion for our plant brethren, I wanted to highlight reciprocal examples, times when the connection and partnership with humans actually altered and improved the lineage of the plant in a positive trajectory.
The Amanita Muscaria and the Sámi Shamans
Although often viewed as a toxic mushroom, Amanita muscaria has a long relationship with the Sámi people of Northern Europe. For centuries, Sámi shamans would consume this mushroom in ritualistic contexts, gaining altered states of consciousness for healing and spiritual guidance. What’s lesser known is how reindeer also seek out these mushrooms. It’s theorized that they are attracted to the psychoactive properties. The reindeer exhibit altered behavior after consuming the mushroom, such as heightened activity, staggering, and even playful antics, which suggests a state of mild intoxication or euphoria. In a true symbiotic cycle, the reindeer’s behavior influenced Sámi herding patterns, making it easier to locate and tend to the herds. The mushrooms form mycorrhizal relationships with birch and pine trees, meaning that they connect to the root systems of these trees in a mutual exchange of nutrients. This fungal network not only sustains the health of the forests in which the Sámi and reindeer dwell, but also contributes to the health of the entire ecosystem. By understanding the mushrooms’ role in the ecosystem, they have traditionally avoided overharvesting, ensuring that the reindeer, forests, and fungi all remain in balance. The Sámi people, through this mutual respect and symbiosis, have evolved cultural practices that protect and preserve these natural relationships. This interaction between the mushroom, the animal, and the human is a unique triangle of symbiosis that shaped Sámi culture and lifeways.
The Teosinte and the Mesoamerican Peoples
Humans and corn (Zea mays or maize) run deep. When we talk about maize, we rarely acknowledge its wild ancestor, teosinte, and the sophisticated domestication process early Mesoamericans undertook. Thousands of years ago, humans began selectively breeding teosinte to transform it into the highly productive maize we know today. This was not a one-sided domestication. As early humans altered teosinte over generations, the plant evolved to become dependent on human cultivation, losing its ability to self-seed and thrive in the wild, and humans were able to stay in one area, developing lasting infrastructure with a consistent food source in cultivation. While this may not be positive for the plant, as it’s now reliant on humans for continuation, it was this plant’s choice to bet on this relationship with humans as its path towards success in the ever-competing world of lifeforms. It’s a perfect example of co-evolution—humans and maize developed together, locked in a mutualistic bond where neither could exist in the same way without the other.
The Sago Palm and the Papuan People
In the wetlands of Papua New Guinea, the Sago palm is more than a food source; it forms the backbone of the social and ecological systems of the Papuan people. The Papuans don’t cultivate the Sago palm in the conventional sense, but their land management practices allow the palm to thrive. In return, the Sago palm provides a starch-rich food that forms the basis of their diet. Interestingly, the palms are also involved in water regulation for surrounding areas, ensuring that the swampy regions remain fertile and habitable. The relationship here is not merely about human benefit, but about maintaining a balanced ecological network where humans are participants, not masters – something we should humble ourselves to more often, before it is forced upon us.
Sweetgrass and Native American Harvesting:
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the depiction of ethnobotany symbiosis that Robin Wall Kimerer describes in Braiding Sweetgrass. Sweetgrass, a sacred plant to many Native American cultures, is a perfect example of how humans and plants can thrive together. For centuries, Indigenous peoples have harvested sweetgrass in a way that encourages its growth. When harvested responsibly—by leaving the roots intact and taking only the top part of the plant—sweetgrass populations actually flourish. Studies have shown that sweetgrass grows better in areas where it is routinely harvested by Native American tribes, as the disturbance stimulates growth and prevents overcrowding. She describes in her book how the maps of where sweetgrass was thriving most match the maps of where the people had traveled and harvested this sacred grass. This documented mutually beneficial relationship gives hope that humans can act as stewards of the land, not only reapers, helping to maintain healthy plant populations while benefiting from their medicinal and cultural uses.
Cedar Trees and Pacific Northwest Tribes:
For Indigenous tribes in the Pacific Northwest, cedar trees provided materials for tools, clothing, and shelter for thousands of years. By harvesting cedar bark and branches in a sustainable way that left trees healthy and alive, these communities maintained forest ecosystems in ways that limited fuel build-up (such as deadwood and undergrowth) that could otherwise lead to larger, more destructive fires. This practice contributed to a more balanced and healthy forest environment, where fires were less intense and the ecosystem remained resilient even in the face of smaller fires. The value of the cedars to the people over many other trees allowed for the cedars to endure longer and aided the cedars in becoming the giants we see in California and the Pacific Northwest today. While Cedar trees naturally outsurvive other species like Alder and Douglas fir due to their natural longevity and resistance to decay, along with other factors like their ability to thrive in shaded forests while pioneer tree species run out of sunlight to thrive – the impact of the Pacific coast tribes forestry practices as well as controlled burns managed by Indigenous tribes, allowed the Cedars even more of an advantage.
Maple Trees and Sap Harvesting:
North American Maple trees have been harvested for sap to make maple syrup for hundreds of years, but the method used has a great impact on the health and longevity of the Maple. With sustainable tapping, we can ensure the trees remain healthy and productive. By tapping the tree in a way that doesn’t damage its core, humans are able to benefit from the sweet delicious sap we all love so much without harming the tree’s overall health. In fact, studies have shown that trees tapped responsibly can continue producing sap for over a hundred years, far longer than if they were left untapped. This careful, reciprocal approach to harvesting allows humans to gather food and resources from the maple groves while ensuring the longevity of the maple tree, a symbiosis, and a commitment to long-term mutual benefit.
All this history to say, with thought for the generations ahead of us, both human and plant, we can employ sustainable harvesting practices and give back to the plants just some of the gifts that they give to us. Next time you work with a plant, cultivate, consume, or forage it – think about what you can do to aid that plant in its mission to thrive in health and abundance, just as they have aided the health of humanity since the beginning.
